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Hello From Ottawa:
The Historic Auberge Mcgee Inn (part I)

During my assignment here in Ottawa to
cover the Tulip Festival I am staying in one of my
favourite types of accommodation: a bed and breakfast.
Not only will you ever see two B&B properties that are
the same, the story of every bed and breakfast owner is
unique as well. The historic McGee's Inn is located just
steps away from the Rideau Canal, the ByWard Market, the
Congress Centre, the University of Ottawa and Parliament
Hill. For me it's a great location since I am able to...

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Bed, Breakfast, hotels,
Rideu Canal

During my assignment here in Ottawa
to cover the Tulip Festival I am staying in one of my
favourite types of accommodation: a bed and breakfast.
Not only will you ever see two B&B properties that are
the same, the story of every bed and breakfast owner is
unique as well. The historic McGee's Inn is located just
steps away from the Rideau Canal, the ByWard Market, the
Congress Centre, the University of Ottawa and Parliament
Hill. For me it's a great location since I am able to
walk to a whole range of major tourist attractions,
sights and museums.

The mansion itself was built
in 1886 for an Ottawa politician by the name of John
McGee. His outspoken, famous brother Thomas d’Arcy McGee
was actually murdered in 1868. The mansion was built in
Victorian style and beautiful wood carvings adorn the
fireplace mantels and artisans from as far away as
Toronto contributed to the architectural detailing.
After John McGee’s family left the property just before
the First World War, it became a boarding house and
remained run down until the early 1980s. About 25 years
ago it was finally turned into a bed and breakfast.

Enter the Armstrong family. Two generations of
Armstrongs, Ken and Judy and their son Jason and
daughter-in-law Sarah decided that they would enter the
B&B business together. Ken had worked for Bell Canada
for 30 years, decided to retire early and completed his
real estate license, something he had always wanted to
do. Judy had worked for the United Church Canada in the
Conference Office, looking after accounting and
continuing education for 16 years. Sarah has a graphics
background and had worked for the ByTown Group as a
graphic artist.

Their decision to enter into
business together was ultimately motivated by Jason’s
layoff from Nortel following which he wanted to spend
more time with his young family. So they sat down and
brainstormed about different ideas about what kind of
business they could get into together. Jason had liked
working at the yacht club as a teenager and Sarah was
working there at the same time. They were thinking of a
variety of hospitality related businesses: they
considered buying a pub, even an ice cream parlour,
anything that would allow the four of them to get into
business together. Then the idea of owning a bed and
breakfast came up. That had a good ring to it and they
started looking into this option.

Jason
meanwhile received job offers from as far away as Boston
but he decided he did not want get into lots of
traveling and wasn’t keen on continuing to work in
computers. Right around that time in 2003 the McGee’s
Inn came up for sale. The advantage with this property
was that it was much larger than the other B&Bs that
they had seen, and it looked like it might be able to
provide enough revenue to sustain two couples.

By that time the bed and breakfast was somewhat run down
with metal diner-style chairs adorning the dining area.
The fireplace was covered up and much of the Victorian
detailing had been neglected. The two Armstrong couples
decided that they were going to buy the McGee’s Inn and
put in an offer on the property. Financing was a major
problem, however. It took them nine whole months to get
the financing since all the banks were scared of
touching a tourism business. All the head offices of the
major banks were located in Toronto which had just been
traumatized by the SARS crisis and the tourism industry
had taken a major hit. As a result the banks declined
many mortgage applications for tourism-related
businesses.

Finally, the Caisse Populaire stepped
up to the plate. Judy mentioned that they were wonderful
to deal with and the local loans manager came out
several times to visit the property and had full
confidence in their planned venture. Stephane inspected
the property first-hand to figure out how to sell the
application to his superiors. Judy describes him as the
typical old-fashioned bank manager who makes business
decisions based on personal relationships. Sure enough,
the deal came through with the Caisse Populaire and the
two Armstrong couples were finally in the B&B business.

When the sale closed they had a total of three days
to strip every single room, throw out every bed spread,
every curtain. The four of them took over the property
on May 25, 2004 and on May 28, 2004 they had a full
house. They took possession of the property on a
Wednesday, Thursday the moving company arrived with all
their furniture and they worked like crazy to get rid of
the old bedspreads. Judy says she went through the house
like a whirling dervish, throwing existing linens,
comforters and pillows out into the hallway to start
their redecorating as quickly as possible. At some point
she asked Sarah to go out and buy 15 new pillows so she
could continue with her decorating spree.

Over
the next few months they gutted the property as fast as
they could and installed a proper fire detection system.
The Armstrongs replaced the furnace, put in new piping
and new wiring for wireless Internet access. In addition
to these major structural improvements, they also
repainted and redecorated each of the 14 guest rooms of
the McGee's Inn.

Judy laughs when she says that
the entire Sandy Hill neighbourhood, including the
residences at the University of Ottawa, probably feature
a lot of their 1980s furnishings and decor. When they
took over the B&B, they gave away much of the old
furniture to Lazarus House, a homeless shelter in
Ottawa, and they put the rest by the curb. Judy said it
was funny how they used to watch their discarded items
walk away one by one, very quickly, most of them picked
up by students from the university which is located just
down the road.

At present they are still
renovating the basement where Ken and Judy will be
living later on. Jason and Sarah are living off premises
with their small son and daughter. I asked them how
things are going for two generations of Armstrongs
working together seven days a week in a demanding
hospitality business. Judy said that Sarah is easy to
work with and admitted that every once in a while she
still treats Jason like her son rather than a business
partner.

But all of them say that their joint
entrepreneurial adventure has been very rewarding and
they really enjoy working together. Most of all they
enjoy the lifestyle that it affords them, the fact that
they have more time for family. People used to ask them
if they were crazy, especially during the first year
when they were doing all these renovations. But for the
Armstrongs it’s all worth it.

Hello From Ottawa:
The Historic Auberge Mcgee Inn (Part II)

I enquired about how the transition phase
went and Judy and Sarah said that it was pretty easy and
seemed very natural. They had all read a lot of books on
how to run a bed and breakfast and their previous work
experience in different fields came in handy. They also
did some first hand research and went to Kingston to
stay in different B&Bs. Judy said that the key deciding
factor is whether you like people or you don’t. She adds
that they had always been comfortable hosting g...

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Bed, Breakfast, hotels,
Rideu Canal

I enquired about how the transition
phase went and Judy and Sarah said that it was pretty
easy and seemed very natural. They had all read a lot of
books on how to run a bed and breakfast and their
previous work experience in different fields came in
handy. They also did some first hand research and went
to Kingston to stay in different B&Bs. Judy said that
the key deciding factor is whether you like people or
you don’t. She adds that they had always been
comfortable hosting guests, they often threw parties for
up to 50 people and had a clear idea of what they wanted
their bed and breakfast to be like.

She admits
that the beginning, their first summer, was hard. At
that time their laundry room was downstairs and all
their linens and cloths were stored on the lower level.
Even if they only needed a facecloth they had to walk up
and down several floors to get it. To make things easier
they even used walkie-talkies to communicate between
different levels of the building. At that time they were
running all over the house to get things done. Today
they have a second floor storage area for linens which
puts a dent in the workload. Sarah adds that their bed
and breakfast is a continuous work in progress and the
ladies keep redecorating the rooms on a regular basis.

I proceeded to ask them about their daily
routine. Judy and Sarah both responded that they get up
at about 6 am or earlier. Judy starts getting the food
ready, which always includes freshly baked muffins or
croissants. Sarah arrives at about 7 am and prepares the
juice. They generally set the tables the night before.

Breakfast is held at 7:30 or 8 am on weekdays
and a half hour later on weekends. A great addition to
their business is a commercial dishwasher which finishes
an entire huge load of dishes in 3 minutes. Judy says
that this appliance has been one of their best
investments. As a result dishes are finished by 10 am.

The team also hired a helper, Jenn, who is a
student at the University of Ottawa and comes in from
Monday to Friday. The Armstrongs handle all their own
laundry onsite. They have two commercial dryers and one
commercial and one regular washing machine. Last summer
they sent a lot of laundry out to commercial laundry
services, but with their new laundry equipment this task
is much easier to handle.

Their bed and breakfast
is generally open all year round with the exception of
one week between Christmas and New Years when they take
off some personal time and get the wood floors
re-sanded. Earlier this year Ken and Judy went on a
Holiday, Vacation & Tour to Portugal while Sarah and Jason ran the B&B
by themselves. The beauty of having two couples involved
in running a B&B is that each of them are actually able
to go on Holiday, Vacation & Tour every once in a while and are not tied
down the whole year round.

I was also curious
about their division of labour to see how they divvy up
their daily responsibilities. Judy responded that she
gets up early to prepare for breakfast and Sarah comes
over a bit later. Sometimes it is also Sarah and Jason
who prepare the breakfast. With a twinkle in her eye
Judy says that Ken “gets in the way more than anything
else” during breakfast preparation. He is more active in
serving the breakfast and handling the coffee and tea
service. Jason, Judy and Sarah do up the rooms and now
they also have Jenn who helps them. Ken still spends
some time working in real estate and he frequently has
clients from out of town who stay at the McGee's Inn, so
this turns out to be a great combination.

Judy
and Sarah indicated that someone is always at the house
because guests could need something at any given time.
However, they take turns being there and occasionally
they manage to go to the movies during the day time
(Judy was planning to see the DaVinci Code later this
afternoon).

When asked about their overall
experience as bed and breakfast owners Judy said that
they didn’t go into this business to become
millionaires. She said if the basics are taken care off
(housing, car, food) you are doing pretty well already
and personal happiness is a question of priorities. As
an example she mentioned a couple, personal
acquaintances, who live in a huge house, travel all the
time for business, and never have any extra money left
over. In addition, this lifestyle puts a huge strain on
their relationship and their children. For Judy having
time for her family has always been more important.

Of course the Armstrongs also have some interesting
guest stories to tell. Judy says that they have had
wonderful guests from all over the world. The majority
of them come from Quebec, Ontario, and the Eastern
United States while some come from California and the
West Coast. Travellers from Germany, England and
Scotland like to visit particularly during the fall
season. They have also had guests from more far-away
locations such as Mexico, Argentina and India.

One of their guests from South Africa almost became like
a family member. He would sit outside with them and just
watch people walking down the street. He could not
believe that people would go for a walk through the
neighbourhoods because where he came from people have 8
foot fences, security systems and guard dogs, and people
are generally scared to walk in public.

Other
interesting guests included a couple riding a 3-wheeler
motorcycle. They wanted to rent the Egyptian room, the
best room at the McGee's Inn, for one night and came in
wearing bandanas, leather suits and chops. In the end
they stayed an entire week and were some of the most
delightful guests they ever had.

Apparently, the
male motorcyclist owned a factory that manufactured
aircraft parts, he was also a passionate cook and a
hobby farmer. He was so stressed out when he arrived
since he had not had a Holiday, Vacation & Tour in a long time. His wife
said she had not seen him this relaxed in a long time.
Even though they looked a little intimidating on
arrival, they turned out to be some of the best guests
they ever had. This experience confirms that you can
never judge a book by its cover.

It was obvious
that the senior and junior Armstrongs both enjoy being
in the bed and breakfast business. It was refreshing to
see two generations from one family come together to
make a joint life decision to structure their working
life around their family priorities. The Armstrongs have
obviously succeeded at that.

Hello From Ottawa:
The Sheep Shearing Festival And Other Interesting Things
To Learn About Wool

Once a year on the May long weekend, the
Canada Agriculture Museum puts on its Sheep Shearing
Festival. It is held on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday
of the Victoria Day weekend. After my excursion to the
see the Flotilla on Dows Lake, one of the signature
events of the Tulip Festival, I took a slow walk on the
western shores of Dows Lake past a serene nature area
towards the Canada Agriculture Museum. As you ascend up
a small hill from Dows Lake towards the museum, you get
a...

Ottawa, Canada, sheep, wool, artis, museum

Once a year on the May long weekend, the Canada
Agriculture Museum puts on its Sheep Shearing Festival.
It is held on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the
Victoria Day weekend. After my excursion to the see the
Flotilla on Dows Lake, one of the signature events of
the Tulip Festival, I took a slow walk on the western
shores of Dows Lake past a serene nature area towards
the Canada Agriculture Museum. As you ascend up a small
hill from Dows Lake towards the museum, you get a
beautiful view of downtown and the eastern part of
Ottawa and it's a great location for a bike ride or a
stroll.

Approaching the Canada Agriculture Museum
from the east you first see extensive ornamental gardens
that at this time featured a variety of spring flowers
and entire rows of blooming lilacs. The Sheep Shearing
Festival was held in one of the main buildings and I
made myself comfortable in the first row of seating
right next to the stage.

It was about 10 minutes
before the next round of sheep shearing which takes
place every half hour during the May long weekend. The
announcer introduced me to a man called Dave, one of the
herdspersons at the Canada Agriculture Museum who looks
after the various animals, e.g. beef cows, horses,
sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits. He explained to me that
the Canada Agriculture Museum is a working farm and part
of the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Its mandate
is to teach agriculture awareness, particularly to
children who have never even been on a farm.

Dave
went on to explain that the beef cattle raised at the
Museum are sold for reproduction and as meat. Milk from
the Museum is also sold on the market and the income
from these various activities helps to offset the cost
of running the museum. Dave mentioned that at Easter
about 12,000 people attend their special events which
include an Easter egg hunt as well as a display of
Easter bunnies.

There is no doubt that Dave is an
expert in agriculture: in addition to working as a
herdsperson for the Museum he also runs his own farm:
some time ago he converted a very labour-intensive dairy
farm into a less demanding beef farm, located about 20
minutes south of Ottawa. After this interesting
introduction to the world of farming, the sheep shearing
demonstration was just about to get underway.

The
announcer asked the crowd, many of whom consisted of
families with young children, what the purpose is of
shearing sheep. A variety of interesting responses came
forth, particularly from the young members in the crowd:
"because the sheep get too hot", "because we need
sweaters", finally someone said that sheep get sheared
because we need their wool. Ross, a tough-looking but
gentle professional sheep shearer came up on the stage,
accompanied by an initially reluctant animal companion:
a very woolly looking grown-up female sheep whose body
posture indicated that she wasn't at all happy about
being on this stage.With the experienced grip of a
professional shearer, Ross grabbed the animal by its
legs, turned it around and sat the animal down on its
rear end, supported against his lower legs. What I found
amazing was that the sheep, that had originally been
battling him and didn't want to come on stage, turned
into a totally docile and compliant animal, once it was
sitting on its rear end, with its front legs up in the
air.

Ross and his woolly friend were soon ready
for their demonstration. The announcer explained that in
addition to the haircut, the sheep also receives a
vaccination, an anti-parasite treatment as well as a
manicure and pedicure during this process. Sure enough,
Ross pulled out heavy duty clippers and the sheep's toe
nail clippings were soon flying into the first row of
the audience. Then the electric shearer came out and
Ross started shearing the animal from the neck down. The
announcer asked the crowd how long they estimated it
would take to shear the sheep. A variety of responses
came back, but the correct answer was 4 minutes. 4
minutes to shear an entire sheep!

Based on Ross's
many years of experience, the shearing progressed
smoothly from the neck to the sides, the back and the
belly, and finally the entire sheep's fleece came off in
one big fluffy piece. The announcer explained that the
entire fleece weighs about 4 to 5 pounds and asked the
audience to estimate the dollar value of a fleece.
Answers shot out, $5, $10, even $60 for a fleece, but
the correct answer is C$1.50. I could not believe it
when I heard it, that an entire fleece would be worth
less than $2! We found out that sheep are raised
primarily for their meat, and that wool is simply a
by-product that doesn't generate any significant
revenue. Then the announcer invited the audience to feel
the fleece and she explained that the sheep's coat feels
a little greasy due to its lanolin content, a natural
skin lubricant, also often used in hand creams.

Well, the sheep shearing demonstration was over, but I
continued into the adjacent rooms and I happened upon a
group of women who were sitting around the room,
knitting, and displaying a whole assortment of home-knit
sweaters, vests, gloves, socks and other garments. Wendy
Steinbach from the Ottawa Knitting Guild explained to me
that their organization has about 120 members (one of
whom is male), and that they meet once a month to knit
as a group and to discuss various knitting projects. The
ladies were using a variety of materials, different
strengths of wool, cotton yarn and one knitter even used
cut-up strips of plastic bags to knit! Another lady
explained that she pulls out her knitting when she is
stuck in a traffic jam. Obviously knitting has
tremendous therapeutic benefits if it is able to calm
you down in a traffic jam .

We then continued to
talk about all of our first knitting projects: the
"boyfriend sweater". Even I, who's got absolutely no
talent or patience for crafts, have knitted such a
garment for a long forgotten significant other when I
was 16 back home in Austria. Apparently knitting a
sweater for your first love is a time-honoured ritual
even on the other side of the globe!

Of course
when I first learned to knit I learned the technical
terminology in my native language, German, so I inquired
what it means when you open up a finished garment to
unravel the wool and undo your work. The ladies
explained that the activity of undoing your hard work
has a number of names: some call it "frogging", others
call it "tinking" ("to tink" is the reverse of "to
knit", hence the connection).

Dale, one of the
ladies from the Ottawa Knitting Guild and Guide at the
Canada Agriculture Museum, demonstrated the spinning
process and she showed me how to use a "drop spindle".
This manual process spins the wools without the use of a
spinning wheel and Dale demonstrated that you can create
a one-ply ball of wool, or you can even intertwine two
threads and spin the thread in the opposite direction.
She then showed me a pair of knitted mittens that had
been washed in very hot water, and the wool's fibers had
become intertwined, almost like boiled wool, a material
that apparently has amazing cold-insulation capacity.

In the next room I met Karen Riches, who is a
full-time "wool artist". Karen is an expert in all the
disciplines of wool handling: spinning, dyeing, weaving,
knitting and felting. What makes her work really unique
is that she doesn't only work with conventional
materials such as sheep's wool or cotton yarn. She
actually uses dog hair to produce wool which she then
weaves or knits into jackets or other garments. She said
many of her clients comb their dogs and give her bags
full of the soft fine hair that comes from their dogs'
belly. She then turns these fine fibers into spun wool
that she processes into a final garment.

Karen
had set up a loom on which she was weaving an
intricately patterned scarf made of silk threads. She
explained that her current project involves 508 threads,
and it takes her about 40 hours of preparation to set up
the threads on the loom while the actual production of
the scarf would take about 20 hours. Altogether with one
set of threads she is able to produce 7 different items,
all of which surprisingly end up having different
colours and patterns. When I inquired about the price of
one of these scarves Karen said that they run at about
$150 which I thought was not surprising, considering the
tremendous effort and labour involved.

Karen
mentioned that she has 20 years of spinning experience
and 18 years of weaving and that she participates in a
studio tour called "Crown & Pumpkin" during Thanksgiving
Weekend. I was astounded at her skills and the beautiful
scarves and garments that she creates. For someone like
me who has very little dexterity, patience or talent in
terms of manual crafts, I always admire people who are
able to create such beautiful items with their own
hands.